International Garden Theme at the Ybor State Museum

Nicole and Justin
Selected Photos by Warehouse Studios*

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Growing up with a mom that is a florist had to have been a little girl's dream for Nicole in planning her very special wedding day.  But Nicole and fiance, Justin, were focused on the overall fun and carefree experience they wanted their guests to experience. Nicole, gave her mom, Beth and stepdad, free reign in designing beautiful fresh flowers arrangements for her garden styled reception at the Ybor State Museum.

She was not disappointed.

While it was decided to hold the ceremony indoors at the nearby Don Vicente Hotel, much of Nicole's focus was on the lovely outdoor layout of the museum garden area. Her desire for a more casual reception translated into a variety of seating ranging from four-person bistro tables to non-reserved traditional round table settings.

Nicole and Justin wanted all of their guests to mingle, enjoy the setting,  and partake of  the food offered at various stations throughout the gardens.  

The couple's day started with relaxed getting ready pictures at the hotel by Warehouse Studio photographers. It was important for Nicole that immediate family and bridal party were close by for all of the wedding day activities. 

Nicole and Justin's canine family members were a part of much of their day.

With everything being inside of the hotel, Nicole, was unaware of the rainy weather conditions affecting the set up of her outdoor reception nearby.

There was only limited "covered" areas in the Ybor State gardens. We made the best of the situation being thankful it was not a full sit down affair with preset table settings. We gave thanks for the inclusion of mason jars in Nicole's rustic chic theming. The lids came in handy for protecting the many toppings and condiments.

Despite the weather, Nicole and Justin took everything in stride. We are very happy to share these images of their February celebration in Ybor City.

Nicole's mom, who owns Beacon Woods Florist in Hudson, created a whimsical array of live florals throughout the garden area. String lights illuminated all of the activity spaces. 

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The couple desired a neutral, yet definative base color palette so we utilized our in-house champagne satin tablecloths for display tables. Guest tables remained ivory with pops of the champagne in flowing chair covers. 

Signage was very important to Nicole and Justin, so directional and sentiment was everyhwere.

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Instead of typical sign in book, they chose jenga puzzle pieces where guests could leave a message they could "build on" for the future.

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While the fresh florals fared better than the other elements of the reception, the rain did not dampen the spirits of the guests nor their hosts.

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When guests arrived after the ceremony, they eagerly took part in caricature sessions by a local artist hired by Nicole and Justin.

 

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Each guest's/couple's fun portrait was hung on a clothesline near the front entrance of the garden. While waiting out the rain and the bridal party picture-taking, we entertained guests with hand-passed appetizers that included Mac N' Cheese Pops, Gazpacho Soup Shooters with Shrimp Garnish, and Spicy Cajun Pecans served in lace doillie cones.

         

Our fearless bartenders braved the intermitant downpours to serve up a full open bar to the arriving guests.

                          

We designed four distinct stations with an international garden theme to reflect Nicole and Justin's varied food choices. This ranged from a Parisan Garden Salad Station to an Oriental-inspired offering of Chicken Teriyaki and Noodles.

An Italian station featured pasta with a variety of toppings. Each station was decorated with items from our in-house inventory of table-top props. 

A fourth station was a carved beef slider station. 

The dj and the main cake table were strategically placed under a pavilion in the corner of the gardens. They chose a small presentation cake along with intricately decorated petite fores from Chantilly Cakes. 

    

One of the finer details of Nicole's wedding was her mom's intention of featuring the multitude of miniature desserts on a vintage bookshelf. With the rain, that plan had to be scrapped in favor of the band-stand covered area.

When it came time for the newlyweds to be introduced, there was a break in the showers and the smiles on their faces cleared away the dark skies.

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Justin had worked diligently up until their wedding day to restore an old pickup truck for their "getaway" vehicle. It made its appearance after the couple's farewell.

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Congratulations Nicole and Justin!

Planning, Decor, Coordination and Catering : 

Catering By Robert / Event Concepts . FL

Celebrating Faith, Family and Friends

Frances and Paul

March 2013

The Italian Club

Photos by Brad Hall Studios

Frances and Paul's 250-person wedding this past March challenged us in many ways. The ceremony was held many miles away at Providence Baptist Church in Riverview. Because there was no live music, dancing, or alcohol, we were concerned how the couple and their families would keep everyone entertained for a four hour reception in the HEART of flamboyant Ybor City.

The bride's mom, Diana, a busy physician, and had been given the role as her daughter's major planner and decorator. Frances had an extremely busy career and continuing education. She counted on her mom to pull her dream wedding together.

I remember our initial meeting well. Right before we did the tasting, Frances' dad asked everyone to join hands and bless the food. Then family outlined a long list of traditional aspects, hand-made favors, centerpieces, and details they wanted to personally handle themselves. I listened and took a deep breath. I recall thinking God indeed would need bless this entire event.

And he did!

Both Frances and Paul were extremely involved with their church. They had a huge comfort level with being married there and then celebrating their reception in a part of Tampa that reflected Frances' Latin heritage. Diana worked diligently on every detail that ranged from handmade fan programs to large silk kissing balls used first for the church and then later for the reception. Much of the color scheme and theming was based on Spanish tile designs used throughout the celebration.

Event Designer, Ashley Allred Davis, assisted in recommending many of the in-house decor elements available for Diana to use along with her custom pieces. Ashley realized that sometimes we just need to "step back" and let the client do their thing. Often our role is that of a facilitator rather than initiator.

 

The day of the wedding came. The details for the couple themselves were very simple. Their focus was on celebrating with family and many friends they had made through college and beyond. They were comfortable doing a first look after getting ready. 

 

Diana made certain all of the little details were in place at the church including bouquets, pew decorations, signage, and programs. Elsewhere, her dad, Wildredo, along with a few relatives, were busy setting up a sound system, projection system, and other components at the reception site. The list of details was ENORMOUS!

On the third floor landing, a sign in table held a huge basket of blank tile pieces which guests would write a well-wish to the newly married couple. Inside the main room were 25 guest tables decorated in gold, eggplant, and bright pink. We placed an assortment of high and low centerpieces which ranged from our tall black wrought iron stands holding kissing ball arrangements from the church, to our small wrought iron candleholders with a single rose head in each. One of our designers, Bradley Dempsey, created some additional  matching silk flower balls from colorful buds in our inventory. 

  

The family purchased all of the gold overlays, purple sheer damask runners, and chair ties. We furnished the bottom cloths, chair covers, and eggplant napkins. Catering By Robert also decorated the entry, buffet, beverage, hors d'oeuvres, head and cake tables with in-house gold and eggplant fabrics.  

When Frances and Paul arrived after formal pictures at the church, they made a grand entrance from Seventh Avenue in Ybor. Once inside, they were able to spend some time for casual poses with family and each other.

 

One of the special details of the reception was a memory table put together by Paul's mom. It featured a quilt with pictures of deceased family members.

The colorful decor complimented the Old World features of the Italian Club ballroom. We set up a double buffet with a huge Paella station.

The cake table was adorable with a miniature bride and groom and more mosaic "tile" accents in the cake and cupcake assortment. The groom's cake featured the Paul's Ohio State signia. A sparkler was lit as the couple sliced their first piece of cake

Even with no dancing, the reception time went by quickly with multiple toasts (sparkling white grape juice), a video presentation, and individual "Las Capias" pinnings by Frances and Paul. This Puerto Rican tradition recognizes special people who have contributed to their lives.

 

The celebration ended on street level with a sparkler "send-off." Congratulations Frances and Paul!

 Design Assistance, Coordinating, Catering: Catering By Robert / Event Concepts . FL